Putin Discusses Afrin, Preparations for Syrian Congress in Sochi with Security Council

MOSCOW- Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed with the permanent members of the Security Council preparations for the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, the situation in Afrin and other issues, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

“The meeting was devoted to the final phase of preparations for the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi,” he said. “Besides, the theme of Afrin was touched upon. In this context Putin briefed the Security Council on the discussion of this issue he held several days ago by telephone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”

The Security Council reviewed current issues of Russia’s internal social and economic agenda, Peskov added, according to Itar Tass.

Sochi Congress won’t Close Chapter on Syrian Political Crisis

It’s wrong to expect that the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi will close the chapter on the political settlement in Syria, although holding the event is a very important “milestone,” Peskov told reporters on Friday.

“The step of holding the Congress is a rather significant progress towards political settlement in Syria, which certainly cannot be exhaustive. That’s why it should not be expected that here in Sochi the chapter on political settlement will be closed, this would be incorrect,” Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman said the Russian leader had no plans to meet with the Congress participants if the Sochi meeting was a success. “There are no such plans now, you know, the work is underway there at another level. In this case here it is more important to achieve a result that everyone will assess and analyze after the Congress,” Peskov said.

In comments on the participants of the talks, which have not been confirmed so far, Peskov noted that “the work that is being done now is extremely challenging and thorny, and many problems are yet to be solved and a lot of difficulties are to be overcome.”

The Syrian National Dialogue Congress is due to take place in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi on January 29-30. The peace conference is expected to bring together about 1,500 participants. Among them are delegations from Syria and observers, largely from the United Nations. The congress is due to set up a commission for drafting a new Syrian constitution.

H.M